Twisted Soul
by Midori the Matchmaker
Summary: They don't know where he came from. But that doesn't matter, because they'll protect him from the nightmares of his past. Freed-centric. Rated T just to be safe. Eventual Fraxus.
1. Prologue

Prologue

A/N: So basically, this is a story about Freed's past and how he got into Raijinshuu. I have always wanted to write this story and that is why I'm postponing my XS stories for the moment. But don't worry, I will get all the XS stories I have written and posted so everyone can read them. Until then, I should get out the Fraxus stories I have first. They're overlapping with my XS.

So, review! Tell me what you guys think.

* * *

They found him in the midst of the ashes, debris and dead bodies.

The boy who seems to be about 8-9 years old, standing there, with blood all over him.

At first they thought he was dead. And he turned to look at them.

They saw a lifeless soul looking at them.

Why that boy was in the ruins of a dark guild, they don't know.

How the dark guild was destroyed before they arrived, they don't know.

All they know was, whatever had happened, that boy was a survivor.

He was the only survivor of the Demoncrest dark guild.

They don't know anything about the boy. They don't even know his name. He wouldn't say it.

The boy wouldn't move. The boy let himself be led away.

The psychologists tried their best. He wouldn't say anything.

One of them suggested writing. The boy was then given a pencil and a piece of paper.

They told him to write anything that comes to his mind.

The boy then wrote. He wrote 1 word, 5 letters.

The boy wrote a word that confused he psychologists.

The boy wrote: Freed.


	2. Chapter 1: Arrival of the new kid

A/N: So…. This is probably the first ever story I wrote that has chapters in it. I'm not really confident whether you guys understand the story or not… 'Cause my English sucks…. So, if I had made any mistakes, review and tell me. So I will not make the same mistake again.

Here you are!

Chapter 1: Arrival of the new kid

* * *

Laxus was frustrated. Annoyed, even. Why? It's because his first S-class mission was a total failure. Why? It's because the dark guild he was supposed to destroy was already destroyed when he arrived. He was only lost for an hour. Not his fault the building was so hard to find.

Not only that, the boy he found that day was going to be under Fairy Tail's care. He didn't really like that boy. He couldn't read that boy. He didn't show any emotions at all. Why is the boy put under Fairy Tail? Because the boy had clung to him after the royal army showed up.

Laxus was sure; they will be pushing the job of babysitting that brat onto him. He sighed as he grabbed his glass of beer and took long gulps from it. That was when Makarov came to him.

"You should stop drinking, Laxus. You're not of age."

Laxus snorted. "Like you care about age-limits. What do you really want?"

Makarov smiled. "Touché. Laxus, you shouldn't drink because you have to set an example for that new kid."

Laxus felt his anger flare. "You've already decided that you're going to push that kid onto me! What about me? Why don't I get to choose to take care of the kid or not?"

"Laxus, you're twelve already. You should act a bit more mature of your age. You should learn how to take responsibility. Besides, that kid seems to like you."

"That's always the reason. '_The boy likes you. He seems attached to you.' _Can't you people be a little more original? The brat doesn't even have any fucking feelings!"

"Fine. I'll be more original. The 'brat' as you so called him, needs to see a familiar face. If you put him in a foreign place with foreign people, he won't open up to anybody. And that's what we need for him to do if we want to know his name! The kid does have feelings! He just doesn't show it!"

"Um, Master," Macao called," the army is here, along with that kid."

Makarov went to greet them. Along the way, he could hear Wakaba muttering "They bring along a whole army for just one kid, and yet they can't settle their own problems." Briefly, Makarov wondered if they really brought their whole army.

He gently pushed away the hyped up Natsu who so desperately wanted to fight the boy. Gray said something that made Natsu divert his attention from the boy and Erza tried to stop them from fighting.

Outside, Makarov could see the army (they really brought their whole army) and the boy being led. The boy was still lifeless as when Laxus found him. Makarov was shocked to see the boy was still covered in blood.

One of the soldiers explained that the boy wouldn't let them touch him. They couldn't force him either. So they just left Fairy Tail to deal with this problem.

"I see… But what do we call him? Didn't you guys named him?"

The soldiers looked at each other. One of them replied.

"His name is Freed. They said to call him Freed."

"Why Freed? Of all names you could come up with is Freed?"

"Well, we didn't exactly come up with it. The doctors suggested to let him write and… well, 'Freed' was what he wrote, so they just named him Freed."

Makarov nodded in understanding. The doctors had a hard time with him so they just didn't bother.

"We'll be going right now. We leave him in your care."

Makarov brought him in. Everybody waited for Makarov to introduce the boy. Makarov cleared his throat.

"Well, everybody, this is our new member, and his name is Freed. Everybody, treat him well, okay?"

Natsu, Gray and Erza were the first to approach Freed.

"Hiya, Freed! Do you have a last name?"

"Why is that the first thing you ask?"

"Nice to meet you, Freed. Do you want to be in our team?"

Freed only stared back at them. Makarov chuckled. "Laxus will be taking care of Freed. And right now, Freed cannot talk."

"Aww, that's sad. Talking is a really nice thing to do. You're missing out on something fun."

Freed continue staring at them until he turned his gaze to the ceiling.

"Hah, he thinks you're boring."

Makarov smiled at their bickering and brought Freed to where Laxus is sitting. Laxus frowned when he saw the blood-drenched boy.

"I know how it looks like, so you're first task is to get Freed here cleaned up. I will be helping you with this of course."

Laxus grumbled in protest but got up to do it anyways. Natsu snickered. Laxus showed him his death. Mirajane teased him. He flipped the bird. Lisanna offered to help. Makarov said to let Laxus try it first.

They brought Freed to the guild's bathroom. Freed just stood under the doorway, staring at who-knows-what.

"C'mere Freed."

Freed stood there, not wanting to go in.

Laxus sighed and made a grab for Freed's hand. Freed moved away from Laxus' hand.

Laxus raised his eyebrow. He tried to grab Freed again, but Freed kept on moving away.

Makarov chuckled. "I guess he doesn't like being touched so much."

Laxus growled. "Help me out here, gramps."

Makarov looked at Freed in the eye. "Freed, don't you want to take a bath and be clean?"

No reply. Makarov extended his hand and wrapped it around Freed. That's when it all started.

Freed started struggling to get away from the hand and Laxus saw a flicker of fear in his eyes before it was gone. Laxus knew there was something wrong to make Freed like this. Laxus dragged Freed into the tub, clothes and all, and sprayed the boy.

Blood flowed into the drain and only then Laxus noticed his hair was green. Freed had his right eye covered and with most of the blood gone, Laxus realized Freed was only wearing rags.

Makarov saw that Freed had stopped struggling and cupped his palms, watching the water flow between his fingers. Makarov chuckled at the action, saw that Freed's fingers are getting closer to his mouth and realized that Freed was trying to drink the water.

Makarov quickly covered Freed's mouth, getting his whole arm wet in the process. Laxus lowered the spray so as not to wet his grandfather any more. For a moment there he thought he saw amazement in his eyes. He was definitely seeing things.

Makarov let go of Freed after he was sure Freed would never attempt to do such a thing again. Why Freed wanted to do it, he didn't know. If they're lucky, Freed will tell them. Now it was time to put soap on Freed. And that is the hard part. They have to take off Freed's clothes, and they know Freed will not like that.

"Laxus!"

Laxus looked at his grandfather. He was pissed off that his grandfather was giving him glances that point him to Freed's body. Who does his grandfather think he is? He is not a pedophile! What is his grandfather trying to imply? Then he realized he is 12 years old so that doesn't count.

While Makarov was making sure Freed doesn't do anything funny while slowly reaching for the soap, he saw that Laxus was getting mad at something. Maybe it's because he was forced to bath little Freed.

"Laxus, stop daydreaming and help me take his clothes off," Makarov said in a hushed voice, desperately wishing Freed didn't hear anything. Unfortunately, Freed heard him.

Laxus realized what his grandfather meant right and cursed himself mentally before Freed start attempting to escape. Laxus held Freed down, which didn't take much effort and it was then Laxus realized (he realize so many things in just one chapter) how skinny Freed is. That was when Laxus didn't care about anything else and just ripped off the rags Freed wears for his clothes.

To say they were just shocked was an understatement. At that moment, Laxus felt emotions that he never really felt before: shocked, disbelief, and anger. He didn't know why but he was really angry. All he wanted to do was find out who did this.

On Freed's back were whip marks that had managed to scar and in the middle of Freed's back was the mark of Demon Crest, untouched by any scars. Freed had stop struggling by then. Freed had lowered his head so that his hair would cover his face but Laxus could smell fear from him as he held the trembling body.

"Laxus, calm down. You're emitting sparks."

Laxus looked at his grandfather. "Like you can say that when you're the one who should be calm."

Laxus was right. Makarov looked as if he wanted to punch someone to hell and back. He just could not fathom who would whip a young boy such as Freed? Maybe he was a slave to Demon Crest. Slaves seem to be an 'in' thing for dark guilds these days.

'But a slave this young…' Makarov thought.

Laxus traced his hand over the mark, the scars; all over Freed's back, wondering how much Freed had suffered staying in that dark guild. He gently turned Freed around. Freed was so thin his ribs could be seen.

Makarov could see that the boy was close to crying so he quickly put some soap on the sponge and started scrubbing Freed's back. Freed startled. This was sudden.

Laxus understood what his grandfather was doing so he took another sponge and started scrubbing Freed's chest. Laxus could see a flicker of confusion in his eyes before it was gone. Laxus concluded that Freed just let them do what they want.

After they finish scrubbing and washing Freed's hair, Laxus teleported back to his house to get some of his old clothes. When they were done, Freed was wearing a blue long-sleeved T-shirt that is one size too big and shorts that reached his ankles and two sizes too big at the hips area, so they decided to use a rope and tie the pants around Freed's hips.

They brought Freed to the bar and gave a glass of water to Freed. Freed stared at the water for quite some time until he took a sip of the water. His eyes widen a little as he started to drink the water in big gulps.

Makarov laughed at Freed's display. It's as if Freed has never tasted water before. Considering how Freed was treated, he doubt that Freed was given water at all. He finally understood why Freed had tried to drink the tap water.

He stopped laughing when Freed choked on his water and Laxus, Macao, Wakaba (they decided to watch Freed because he seems so cute and innocent lol) and Makarov started panicking on what to do. The whole thing was solved when Erza passed by and decided to lend a helping hand and hit Freed on the back, hard.

Freed spitted out the water and everyone became calm again. Laxus started cursing himself because he didn't know why he panicked in the first place. Freed stared at the empty glass longingly. Laxus' anger dissipated when he saw Freed staring at his glass. He felt like laughing, actually. He doesn't even know why.

Freed looked up when the food arrived. Freed's eyes widen at the sight of the food placed in front of him. In front of him was the all-famous Western food, chicken chop. He looked at the chicken, then at the fries, then at the tomatoes, lastly at the bread.

Laxus frowned when Freed reached for the bread and started eating it bit by bit. Laxus wondered why Freed wasn't eating the chicken or the fries first, as those were what kids usually see first.

Makarov watched as Freed finished the bread and started staring at the knife and fork placed beside the plate. He wondered idly whether Freed knew how to use them. His suspicions were confirmed when Freed took the knife and stabbed the chicken with it. That was when Macao and Wakaba started laughing.

"Freed, do you know how to use cutlery?" Makarov inquired. He wondered whether this child was educated or not. Beside him, Laxus sighed.

Laxus took out the knife from the chicken and the fork on the table. He held them up. "This is how you hold them and this," he proceeded to cut a slice of the chicken, "is how you use them."

Makarov was surprised. He hadn't expected Laxus to teach Freed how to use them. He got even surprised when Laxus took the slice of chicken with the fork and fed Freed. Macao and Wakaba had already stopped laughing by then, eyes wide, not expecting the action. Mirajane, who was passing by at that time, jaw dropped at the sight of Laxus feeding someone.

Laxus, who noticed everyone's stares, glared at them until they turn away. He gave the knife and fork back to Freed and watch as Freed try to imitate what Laxus has done just now. He failed, horribly.

Makarov chuckled. Seeing Freed attempting to cut the chicken was cute. Especially when he needs to push up his sleeves every 10 seconds so they won't get dirty. Seeing Natsu teasing Laxus, Lisanna admiring him, Mira and Erza fighting. Seeing everyone communicating, like a family. Makarov was content to see everyone smiling (except for Freed, Laxus, Erza and Mira).

What they didn't know is that Ivan Dreyar had been watching Freed ever since he came here. The grin plastered on his face promised something bad to come upon them. Ivan walked away from the guild, gone to set up his plans to cause destruction.


	3. Chapter 2: New friend

OKAY! THIS IS CHAPTER 2! I am very sorry it took quite long for me to update but there had been some disturbances you see, and they took up my precious time. But I hope this make up to the lost time. I won't take long, so please review. Because I really want to hear what you guys think.

* * *

Bixlow tiptoed on the bar. He heard that the new kid was short, but it wouldn't make much of a difference anyways. He just wanted to see the new kid for himself. They say the new kid is cute, and his babies love cute.

He frowned. The kid was nowhere to be found. And here he thought he could peek into his soul. IT has been his hobby these days. Maybe he could figure out how to make him talk. He sat on a stool, hoping he could hear someone mention the kid was. Fortunately, someone did.

"So where you take Freed to?" Makarov asked. 'Ah, so the new kid is called Freed,' Bixlow thought.

"Well, he is uneducated, so I took him to the guild's library so he could study," Laxus replied. 'So he's in the library… I wonder whether he's still in there… The library's so boring…'

Laxus continued. "Once he started reading one book, he wouldn't even budge from the spot." "He is still there. Wow…'

Bixlow hopped off the stool and strolled to the library. There, he noticed a pile of books, creating a wall around something. 'He's definitely in there,' Bixlow thought.

He peered over the wall of books and sure enough, Freed was settled in the circle of books. Freed doesn't seem to know that Bixlow was here. Bixlow's mischievous mind quickly thought of scaring Freed.

He set off to find the materials needed for his scare, but he tripped and fell. He heard the sound of books falling after and grimaced. Freed was probably going to have bruises.

Bixlow clumsily got up, but he laughed so hard he fell again after seeing Freed falling again into his pile of books. He strolled over to Freed and held out his hand. Freed studied Bixlow's hand for a while before timidly taking it.

Bixlow started giggling. 'He has a mole under his eye. It makes him look cute,' Bixlow thought.

Freed stared at him, and that was when Bixlow stopped laughing. He observed Freed, noticing how pretty the blue orb shines when light reflects off it. But that's not the problem here. Looking past the pretty blue eye, he finally understands why everyone says he's dull.

Freed have no spirit.

Bixlow cupped Freed's face and brought him closer. Bixlow stared harder into Freed's eye, hoping that maybe there was a speck of it hidden under many walls and layers to protect that bit from being taken away, but he saw nothing.

'This kid doesn't have a spirit…' Bixlow thought worriedly. He could see the questioning look in his eyes, but beyond that, there was nothing. Freed was just an empty shell with reactions he got used to making.

His train of thoughts broke when he felt a hand reached up to touch his forehead. He realizes what Freed is staring at and chuckled quietly. He let go of Freed and brought his hand up to touch his own forehead.

"This," Bixlow stated quietly as he traced the tattoo, "is just a tattoo." He braced himself, getting ready for obvious disgust for that tattoo and him. He was surprised when Freed fished out a dictionary from the pile of books below him and started flipping through it.

Bixlow chuckled when Freed nodded in understanding and closed the giant book. He wasn't sure what Freed was going to do now, but he sure wasn't expecting Freed to trace that tattoo.

Bixlow was used to people looking at disgust, staying away from him, even going so far as bullying him. But Freed didn't even try to get away from him. Sure, he received almost the same treatment in Fairy Tail, but he could see disgust and contempt when he went near them. Freed was different.

"You don't think I'm disgusting? I mean, I have a tattoo the shape of a stylized man and my tongue is really long. You don't mind?"

Freed shook his head. He really didn't understand why he should be disgusted.

Bixlow smiled as big as he could with his tongue out. This kid was really interesting.

"Hey, do you wanna play?" Bixlow grinned when Freed light up at the question. He could just see a beautiful friendship blooming.

* * *

Laxus frowned. He had left Freed with his books to get a drink and when he came back, Freed was gone. Laxus didn't know why there was a mess in the library but he still will be in big trouble if word got out that he lost Freed.

Laxus had searched the whole library and he still couldn't find Freed. He wanted to yell Freed's name but the librarian would hear and he didn't really want to anger her.

Laxus had sat down on a chair beside the mess Freed has probably made, tired from running all around the library. He got up and started to run again, only to trip and fall. He turned around, ready to glare at the book that had made him fall, when he realized that the book wasn't that far away when he went off to search.

He turned to his side, noticing that more books have been taken out form the pile and have been made into a path. Laxus got up and followed the trail, eventually coming to a bookcase that has some books half out, becoming a makeshift staircase.

Laxus looked up, and his eyes widen to the size of dinner plates when he saw Freed sitting on the bookcase, leaning down as if searching for something. Freed looked pretty shocked to see Laxus there too.

"Aha! The dragon finally appeared!"

Laxus turned around when he heard a foreign voice. He saw a boy who looked a year younger than him wearing a helmet with a visor. He swung around his makeshift sword and tried to stab Laxus with it. He turned to Freed.

"Fear not, m'lady, for your knight in shining armour has arrived! I have come to free you from the dragon that has kept you prisoner for years in this tower! All that's left is to- oww!"

Bixlow rubbed his jaw where Laxus just punched him.

"That's mean, Dreyar-kun. You're supposed to be a dragon and roar or something. Dragons don't punch," Bixlow said as he lifted the visor. All he got was a glare in return.

Laxus turned to Freed. "Freed, get down from there or you're going to hurt yourself. Gramps' gonna kill me if he finds out."

"But Dreyar-kun, I wanna play with Freed, and we need a dragon, so could you just pretend to lose to me so I can go rescue my damsel in distress?"

Laxus ignored what Bixlow said and concentrated on getting Freed down safely. He got kind of pissed when Bixlow called Freed his 'damsel in distress' though.

"Really, Dreyar-kun, we were just getting to the good part. You could've waited until we were done, though."

Laxus turned to give Bixlow his death glare that didn't really do much with Bixlow wearing the visor. "Shut up. Game's over. Go away."

Bixlow shut up after that, but he didn't go away. He watched as Laxus carried Freed down from the bookcase and set him down.

Laxus held Freed's hand, just in case Freed disappeared again with the weirdo. He really didn't know why he got pissed and he hoped he can release all that pent-up anger on idiots that try to pick a fight with him. He can't do it with Freed beside him though.

Bixlow watched as Laxus and Freed walked away before sighing. Then, he saw Freed stopped and looked back to him. 'He couldn't have heard me sigh, could he?'

Freed looked at him longingly, wanting to play with Bixlow more. Bixlow saw that and said, "Don't worry, Freed baby. I will always be your knight in shining armour, forever and ever. You can count on that."

Freed seemed to brighten up when he said that, although he could feel Laxus getting more irritated, and he snickered. Freed glanced back at Bixlow one last time before he tagged along Laxus. Bixlow grinned. He definitely won't let Laxus take away all of Freed's attention.

* * *

"Laxus, you only went to take Freed out of the library to eat, so why are you so angry? And why is there a paper tiara on Freed's head?"

Laxus glanced at Freed's head and sure enough, there was a paper cut out the shape of a tiara. And that had just made Laxus even madder.

Makarov sighed. His grandson just doesn't know how to interpret his own feelings. Makarov could clearly see that Laxus was jealous of someone, probably because they took Freed's attention away from him. HE bet Laxus doesn't even know he's starting to emit sparks.

Laxus calmed down considerably when Freed started to use his cutlery properly. Makarov sighed again. It will take a long time before Laxus realizes that he already got used to taking care of Freed without him and developed feelings for Freed.

Even if it takes years for him to realize that, Makarov would gladly wait for the day to come if only it would help save Freed.


	4. Chapter 3: New Clothes

A/N: Okay so there's a reason why I haven't been updating. For the first week I was busy with schoolwork. I had time for the second week, but then my sister had decided she was once again interested in Korean dramas and proceeded to use my laptop to watch them. So I wrote chapter 4 and 5 onto paper. For the third week, we were busy moving house. I had Friday free, but there was no Wi-Fi for a week and more.

So yeah… Enjoy the late chapters.

* * *

"Oh God, why am I here?" Laxus groaned as he leaned against the white wall.

"Laxus stop complaining and help us pick out some clothes," Makarov said as he held up a green T-shirt to Freed's body. "How about this, Freed?"

"Yeah, Laxus-kun, help pick out some clothes," Bixlow said as he drew pictures on Freed's back with his fingers. "Oh yeah, that will look good on Freed," Bixlow remarked. He chuckled when he drew on Freed's sensitive spot on his back and tried grabbing his finger.

Makarov sighed. He knew Bixlow was lying when he said that because for some reason green doesn't look really good on Freed. He mentally groaned when he realized he was a bit fashion-conscious about this. He was too old for this stuff.

He turned towards Laxus who had started glaring at Bixlow. He didn't know why Freed wanted to bring Bixlow along but at least they're all getting along. Well, with Freed only. For some reasons, Laxus seems to hate Bixlow with a burning passion and Bixlow doesn't like Laxus taking Freed's attention away from him.

"Your opinion isn't needed here, clown-face," Laxus growled, "Why don't you join a circus? I'm sure there'll be someone who appreciates you clowning around."

"You're just jealous because I'm better than acrobatics than you," Bixlow started, "and Freed appreciates me clowning around, so I guess I'll stay with him."

Laxus' glare intensified as the two had an impromptu staring competition, with all the staring done by Bixlow and Laxus just added a glare in it. Their little competition was ruined when someone came between them, literally.

Freed had squeezed himself between the both of them and stared at them, and from Laxus and Bixlow's point of view, they looked like puppy eyes. They quiet down after that. They both didn't want to be on the receiving end of that puppy look. They just couldn't resist. Laxus called it weakness while Bixlow called it _OMGITSJUSTTOOCUTEICANDIERIGHTHERERIGHTNOW _look.

* * *

The group continued browsing through the stores for the whole morning but they still couldn't find clothes that are suitable for Freed. They stopped for a break at one of the coffee shops.

Makarov sighed. "I just don't know why women love to shop so much when shopping for just a single shirt is so hard to do."

"That's because women were born with the talent while men were not," Bixlow said. He let one of his souls possess a mannequin in a store opposite from where they were sitting. They could hear the screams of the shopkeeper when the mannequin moved.

"Stop that, you're making things worse," Laxus grumbled while trying to 'gently' swat Freed's tiny mouth away from his coffee. They sat in silence for a while until Bixlow spoke, "You know, I think we should get a girl to help us."

They agreed and promptly dragged Freed away before he could burn his tongue on Laxus' coffee.

* * *

"I get that you want me to help you find clothes for Freed, but why is Erza here too?" Mirajane asked as she glared at Erza.

"Well, it's because both of you are quite fashionable so you two can help us," Makarov said. He just hope they wouldn't get into a fight.

"Alright, fine, let's see who is the fastest one to find the perfect shirt for Freed," Erza said, smirking.

"You're on." Erza and Mirajane raced each other to every shop with Freed trailing along, making him try on every shirt they picked. By the end of the day, Freed had tried out almost every shirt in all of the stores. Most of them were three sizes too big or two sizes too small or girl clothes. Those that are the right size were ignored because the colour didn't suit Freed. Mirajane and Erza were arguing over which colour suited Freed better.

"Blue is better!" "No, black is!" "Are you trying to influence him in growing into a Goth?" "Are you trying to make him one with the sky?"

"Now girls, I'm sure we can work this out somehow," Makarov stated, trying to calm both girls since they could be dangerous when angry.

"How?" Both girls turned to him, glaring at him for interrupting them.

"Well, you can ask Freed to choose. He is the one wearing the shirt after all."

The girls turned to Freed, who looked at Makarov in alarm. Makarov just sent an apology look his way. Silence ensued and the tension increased as Mirajane and Erza continued staring at Freed. At last Freed pointed to a white long-sleeved button-up shirt that Laxus was holding. And it was just one size big but Freed liked it.

Mirajane grumbled about the competition not being fair, that Freed likes Laxus anyway and Erza was just relieved that the day was over. They bought the shirt and went back to the guild.

* * *

Ivan leaned on the wall of the alley. Facing him were a few men whose hand and face bore the mark of Demoncrest.

"So this is the deal. You bring that boy to me and I'll make sure to drain every single drop of magic he has as per your late Master's wishes," Ivan said.

One of them snickered. "Don't you worry about that. We'll definitely get him. We have a score to settle with him after all."


	5. Chapter 4: Blood Carnival (Part 1)

Now that chapter 5 is done but I haven't typed it out yet, I have more time to concentrate on another story and chapter 6. I'm so happy! I finally reached chapter 4! And I'm almost done with chapter 6, so I may be posting chapter 5 and 6 simultaneously. Don't forget to review!

* * *

All Laxus wanted to do was stay in his cosy house and sleep. He did not appreciate being waken up at 6.00 in the morning, ordered to wash up and get ready just to go to a stupid carnival with Freed and Bixlow.

Makarov had given Laxus 100,000 jewels to spend the whole day at the carnival with Freed only. But then Bixlow overheard their plan and invited himself along.

"Laxus! Laxus! I want to play this game!" Bixlow pointed to a ring toss game where the 1st prize was a radio. Laxus glared at him for a while and gave some money to Bixlow.

Bixlow happily received the money and dragged Freed over to the game stall. Laxus reluctantly followed them to watch. It's not like he could let anything happen to Freed.

Bixlow showed Freed what to do as he played. He managed to win the radio. Freed tried his best to win too, but he only managed to hook one ring. He still managed to win a Fairy Tail keychain though.

Bixlow was having the time of his life. He found out from Master that Freed and Laxus were going to the biggest carnival in town. It only comes around once a year and he feels really lucky that he gets to go there with Freed even though he wasn't invited in the first place.

Watching Freed strolling around watching people play games in awe, he couldn't help but ask Laxus for money to play with Freed. But Laxus is still this anti-social guy who probably had a deep grudge with games from the way he glared at the games. That'd the one thing that is troubling Bixlow.

Every time Freed gets happy when he managed to hook the ring around the pole or catch a winning duck or knock down a bottle with a ball (which is quite rare), he turns around to see whether Laxus is watching or not. And when Laxus is too busy glaring at some poor sap (which is always), he became depressed. And then Bixlow came to save the day with a prize he won from the game. Bixlow still didn't like Laxus making Freed sad.

* * *

They had stopped for a break on one of the benches with their lunch, hotdogs and burgers and soda. Freed's eyes were mixed with surprise and confusion after he saw the hot dogs and burgers. Bixlow raised his eyebrow. Why would anyone be surprised?

"Freed, fold up your sleeves or it'll get dirty," Laxus said. That stop Freed from biting off the tip of the sausage. He crinkled his nose and put down his hot dogs to push up the sleeves of his new shirt.

Bixlow giggled when Freed's sleeves came down again. Laxus sighed and put down his own food. And then he did the one thing Bixlow would never thought he'd do.

Laxus folded Freed's sleeves while Freed just stared. When Laxus was done, Freed held up his arms and down to see whether it will fall again. To his surprise, it didn't.

Freed happily continued eating while Bixlow was suspicious of why Laxus did that, but later he thinks that Laxus isn't such a bad guy after all and as long as Freed is happy, he'll learn to like Laxus soon. Bixlow could eat peacefully after knowing that they won't have to be enemies after all.

* * *

The sun is setting and Laxus, being as stubborn as he is, still hadn't played a single game. They were just about to go back to the guild with all their prizes when Freed tugged on Laxus' sleeve.

"What is it now, Freed?" Laxus looked down to Freed. Freed just pointed to a game stall.

"I'm not playing anything," Laxus growled and started to walk again when the tugs on his sleeve became more insistent.

"Aww, come on, Laxus, do you want to deprive poor Freed of his teddy bears?" Bixlow teased and pointed at Freed. Laxus looked down. Bad mistake.

Freed had already started to look at Laxus with the one pair of eyes Laxus couldn't resist: puppy eyes. Laxus muttered a few bad words that Bixlow and Freed couldn't hear and walked over to the game stall that hosting a shooting game.

Laxus groaned. It's not like he wasn't good at shooting. In fact, he had taken a few lessons in shooting before he declared it was boring.

He didn't manage to shoot all the moving ducks and thus didn't get a prize. HE was about to turn and walk away when he noticed Freed staring sadly at one of the prizes in the stall. All he saw were a few teddy bears in the first and second place.

"Look Freed, you already have enough teddy bears from Bixlow. You don't need another one," Laxus said. Bixlow laughed. His eye twitched in anger.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Freed just wants a particular teddy bear from second place. Just do him a favour and get the teddy bear for him." _'Laxus sure is slow,'_ Bixlow thought. Laxus didn't know why Freed wanted the teddy bear but Bixlow do. And he's not about to tell Laxus anytime soon.

Freed looked up at Laxus with his puppy eyes and Laxus swore he could see sparkles to amplify the effect. He grumbled when Bixlow persuaded him more. "You aren't about to let poor Freed be teddy bear-deprived, are you?"

So Laxus kept on playing to get the second spot. After a many tries, Laxus finally got the second place. He let Freed choose the prize and was surprised to see that the teddy bear had a lightning shape tattoo on its right eye. It took a few moments for Laxus to realise that the bear was him. He still didn't get why Freed want it so much.

He got a little embarrassed when Freed hugged the teddy bear.

"Freed! Don't just hug Laxy! Hug me too!" Bixlow complained. Freed stopped hugging said 'Laxy' and hugged Bixlow instead. While the sweet little exchange was taking place, Laxus was angry and confused. _'Laxy?'_

* * *

Laxus, Bixlow and Freed were finally going back to the guild. Freed was walking in between the two boy with one hand holding on to his teddy bear (now named Laxy, courtesy of Bixlow) and another hand holding on to Laxus' shirt. Laxus and Bixlow were arguing about whether the teddy bear should be named Laxy or not.

They turned right and walked into an alley that happens to be a shortcut back to the guild. But every child should've known that shortcuts were bad and dangerous.

The alley was unnaturally dark and Freed's hand tighten its grip on Laxus' shirt. He didn't know why but he felt something evil in the alley. Laxus and Bixlow's argument stopped when they felt it too. But Laxus is stubborn and full of pride, he didn't turn around but instead continued walking down the alley, Bixlow and Freed tagging along behind him.

The unnatural darkness made it hard for them to see and caused Laxus to bump into something. When he reached out to feel it, a hand shot out and pulled Laxus into the shadows. Another hand grabbed Bixlow and dragged him into the shadows, leaving Freed all alone in the alley. Blue eyes darted around searching for a hand that might grab him too. His hands tighten their grip around Laxy, now that Laxus and Bixlow were gone.

The shadows lurked closer to Freed. Freed realised that he shadows weren't normal and stomped the ground. Immediately the shadows dispersed, revealing a group of men. They bore the mark of Demoncrest and had Laxus and Bixlow as their captives, prizes scattered about.

Freed's blue eyes widen as one man stepped towards him.

"Albion."

* * *

Anyone who is a Freed fan may know the name Albion. Those who do get free cookies!


End file.
